Category Archives: Cincy Fringe Festival

TO AND FRO AND UP AND DOWN presented by Kleesattel Productions as part of the 2011 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

Please note that the run time for this production has been increased to 45 minutes.

The Devil himself gets the Fringe treatment courtesy of an original script by Benjamin Kleesattel, under the deft direction of his aunt, Gina Kleesattel.

The Devil may seem an odd choice for leading a Bible study, but then again, wouldn’t someone who has been around since “in the beginning” have some interesting insights?

Dain Alan Paige is spot-on as an unassuming, professor-ly, and seemingly honest narrator for the piece. Cutting through the “vilification” the Devil has endured by the media for thousands of years, the play focuses on the parts of the Bible where he is actually mentioned by name.

Over the course of the lecture, Satan is joined by Adam and Eve, the Snake, Job and his wife and Jesus. The solid ensemble of Brendon North, Anne Arezina and Joe Caesar each tackle a pair of these supporting roles. Caesar as the snake was a personal favorite.

The script is smart and offers some fun “insights” into what may have been lost in translation over the years. Perhaps a few scenes could use some editing but that is a minor complaint.

Unfortunately with the run-time being incorrect, I was forced to leave the performance just as Jesus made his entrance near the end of the show. I’m hoping to find a way to catch  the rest of the show before the Festival ends.

Four performances remain of TO AND FRO AND UP AND DOWN at the Art Academy, Sat, June 4 at 3:15pm; Tue, July 7 at 7pm; Thu, July 9 at 8:15pm and Sat, June 11 at 3pm.

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links to other media reviews and more are available on my FaceBook fan page or you can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

MISSING from Jessica Ferris - Photo by Jeff Burkle.

MISSING: THE FANTASTICAL AND TRUE STORY OF MY FATHER’S DISAPPEARANCE AND WHAT I FOUND WHEN I LOOKED FOR HIM presented by Jessica Ferris as part of the 2011 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

Jessica Ferris has a true and personal story to tell. Well,  to say “tell” does not do her performance justice. Ferris brings considerable talent to her solo show: strong character acting, physical theater skills, a bit of the avant-guard, and a willingness to tap into and share the painful emotions she experienced over the years.

MISSING is not just the story of trying to find the father that abandoned her when she was two years old. It’s a re-examination and sharing of her nearly-obsessive  journey to find answers to fill the missing pieces of her being, and hopefully, to find her missing peace. In me, she found a kindred soul.

For those of you with Norman Rockwell-esque families, maybe you’ll realize how lucky you were in the birth lottery. For those with troubled families, maybe you’ll realize you’re not so alone. And for those who don’t emphasize with Jessica’s emotionally-charged performance, maybe you are one in twenty-five.

Four performances of MISSING remain at Know Theatre: Sat, June 4 at 9:15pm; Sun, June 5 at 2:30pm; Tue, June  at 7pm and Fri, June 10 at 7:30pm.

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links to other media reviews and more are available on my FaceBook fan page or you can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

WHITE GIRL from Maythinee Washington - Photo by Bryn Weller

WHITE GIRL presented by Maythinee Washington as part of the 2011 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

WHITE GIRL is a solo performance art piece of personal examination told by “employing found text & sound with movement and pantomime.” In all fairness, I need to state that these types of work are not my favorite to attend. To me the audience’s enjoyment of the work is tied to an individual’s emotional response to what is conveyed by the artist. When I have trouble reconciling the theme, the artist’s written statements about the show and the actual performance, then my reaction turns to confusion and frustration.

Most of the “found sound” pieces used were extremely old. Sound tracks from those ’40s and ’50s classroom movies in the vein of “Reefer Madness.” In one, a stern male voice lecturing young Jack and Jill about “How Can You Tell if You Are Ready for Marriage?” (A film I’ve seen roasted in an episode of MST3K.) These films are something my parent’s would have been subjected to when they were in high school, but I fail to see them as a contemporary influence on this young actress when she was growing up. The same is true, for me, in the use of the soundtrack of the “Mystery Date” board game commercial, which I vaguely remember as a child. Again how did this influence a young woman young enough to be my daughter?

More contemporary influences are shown in the off-handed use of pages ripped from fashion magazines and the like, but for me it is an obvious choice and not new territory. The show does finish strong as the performer embraces herself and her heritage. As I stated earlier, this type of performance speaks to the individual so your response to the piece will probably be completely different from mine.

The ArtWorks performance space does have a raised playing area, but sight lines are horrible for all but the front rows whenever the actress goes to the floor. Moving those scenes as far upstage as possible would help with sight lines.

Three performances of WHITE GIRL at Artworks remain: Tonight (Thu, June 2) at 7:15pm, Sat, June 4 at 8pm and Sun, June 5 at 3pm.

THE GOD BLOG presented by What If Play Shop Players as part of the 2011 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

I am not familiar with WLW radio’s daily soap opera, “As Your Stomach Turns,” a Cincinnati staple of the late ’60s through 1981. What I expected from THE GOD BLOG was compelling voices, sound effects and melodramatic fun. My performance expectations are best met by playwright and actress Kathleen O’Neill.

Unfortunately, at the opening night performance, the show suffers from an obvious lack of rehearsal. Reading from a script is no excuse for a lack of preparation. Actors need to be intimately familiar with their individual parts as well as the script as a whole. And if this is a homage to radio melodrama, then voice acting and strong characterization should be front and foremost. Instead line delivery tends to be flat and several pregnant pauses occur as cast members miss their pick-ups lines. Also too much focus is spent talking to each other instead of performing to the audience, causing cast members to lose their place in their scripts. Finally, a few cast members could benefit from a lesson in how to use a stand microphone.

The good news is that cast members have time between shows to work on their material and I expect stronger, more fine-tuned performances as the festival continues. Remember, if you are having fun, the audience will respond in kind.

Four performances of THE GOD BLOG at the Art Academy of Cincinnati remain: Fri, June 3 at 8:15pm, Tue, June 7 at 8:45pm. Wed, June 8 at 7pm, and Sat, June 11 at 5pm